Font Fridays: Shapes for Sounds
This week’s Font Friday giveaway is a copy of Timothy Donaldson’s Shapes for Sounds from Mark Batty Publisher.
A History of the Alphabet
Shapes for Sounds examines “why alphabets look like they do, what has happened to them since printing was invented, why they won’t ever change, and how it might have been.” Twenty-six beautiful and informative charts express Donaldson’s research into the evolution of the alphabet.
How it Works
As in weeks past, all readers can enter the contest by answering a question in the comments below: what’s your favorite letterform? This week, we’re extending the contest period until Monday, so folks from all time zones have a chance to enter. You have until 8am EDT Monday, November 2 to submit your answer; you may only enter once. After 8am Monday, a winner will be randomly selected, and we’ll announce the name here.
Can’t wait til Monday? If the anticipation is killing you, you can always while away the time by contributing to Typedia’s growing encyclopedia of typefaces. And don’t worry, we have lots more exciting giveaways coming up.
Update: And we have a winner! Joshua Taylor wins a copy of Shapes for Sounds. Thanks again to Mark Batty Publisher for sponsoring the giveaway!
Comments are closed on this entry.
1.
nathan_ford Oct 30, 2009
That’s easy: g
It has the most interesting and distinct form in all typefaces.
2.
raray Oct 30, 2009
Capital ‘R’, but then with my name, I’m somewhat predisposed. I love the way my dad forms his Rs in his signature.
-R.A. Ray
3.
paulrandall Oct 30, 2009
I would say ‘g’ as well, especially after seeing this post: http://www.thedesigncubicle.com/2009/10/same-ol-g-think-again-a-visual-study-of-the-lowercase-g/
4.
Gonzalo González Mora Oct 30, 2009
‘g’, obviously :)
5.
joelfiasco Oct 30, 2009
Lowercase ‘g’ without any further thought involved. It’s like a cute little child, you can’t help but to adore it, dote over it, spoil it. I love you, lowercase ‘g’.
6.
Dave S. Oct 30, 2009
‘a’
7.
magneticshape Oct 30, 2009
“You are as graceful as the capital letter ‘S’.” Someone said this in the movie ‘Rambling Rose’. So, yes, the capital letter S.
8.
jimdoran Oct 30, 2009
The capital letter “S” is number one with me (since I can only pick one).
9.
GUESShimself Oct 30, 2009
The lowercase ‘f’ can be quite good looking depending on the font. And I’m not sure if people would classify the ampersand as a letterform, but if so, it gets my vote.
10.
Louis-Jean Teitelbaum Oct 30, 2009
You can tell so much by a font’s or a person’s lowercase e – their openness to the world, their sense of humor.
11.
Joshua Taylor Oct 30, 2009
Still have go here: ç
12.
Matt Beattie Oct 30, 2009
I have something of an obsession with the lowercase ‘a’. If a typeface doesn’t have a beautiful lowercase ‘a’, I tend to scrap it immediately, giving it no chance to redeem itself in other letterforms. I am particularly partial to hard-cut serif ‘a’s, like in Bembo. I’m getting all goosebumpy just thinking about it…
13.
danielburgess Oct 30, 2009
Lowercase ‘a’ makes me happy.
14.
AmpDaily Oct 30, 2009
I’m addicted to ampersands (’&’).
It’s not part of the alphabet, but it makes the other letters look great ;)
Check out my ampersand blog: http://AmpDaily.tumblr.com
15.
rocketspops Oct 30, 2009
I favor a nice “Q”.
16.
Riccardo Mori Oct 30, 2009
The uppercase ‘Q’. It’s like a circle with a signature. An ‘O’ with character :)
17.
Dominik Porada Oct 30, 2009
“Q”, definitely. :-)
18.
aaronbell Oct 30, 2009
Given the contents of my doodles, capital ‘Q’ and double-story ‘g’ are very high up on the list, but for the sake of variety, how about a capital ‘K’?
19.
Eric MacLeod Oct 30, 2009
For me it is ß. Typographers should bring it back.
20.
carlpeterson Oct 30, 2009
Gotta go with ‘g’.
21.
jasonwhittemore Oct 30, 2009
Q is the sexiest letter ever. The sound and the shape. Hmmm. And the words that begin with it. Delicious Q.
22.
hillscomma Oct 30, 2009
Lowercase ‘e’ for me.
23.
KKNMadtown Oct 30, 2009
Lowercase “g”.
24.
seed Oct 30, 2009
has to be the “&”. so curvy and delicious. hard worker too, often joining unrelated names and words together!
25.
alma Oct 30, 2009
I like almost all letters of the alphabet. I love the & because it is sensuous and seductive. But I also like Gs, Js, Ss, Ms, Qs because the little tail is a teaser for something more, and Vs because they look very royal
26.
riccard0 Oct 31, 2009
Obviously R, Q is so nice but rarely treated with enough respect by type designers.
But I will settle with A, which set the tone of the entire alphabet.
27.
Tony Nov 02, 2009
Tossup between lowercase g in most serif typefaces, or the ampersand in all it’s varied shapes and sizes.